Arizona weekly citizen., 1887-01-29

fNSH to-Nay enc OlAl introduced n Inc Council by NIT. Blinn, of Cooh,se county, entitled "An Act nbolishiny County CouIts and Re-estsblisbing Probate Courts" As measure that i. receiving the serious consideration of a Legislative body no one will deny that if Is fearfuily and wonderfully made, and whether by accident or design 1t is giving into the hands of the three justices of the Supreme Court a wide scope of power and political patronage that is entirely inconsistent with the delicate Judicial position they occupy. We ask a careful perusal of this bill, by the people. and submit it to their judgment. They will readily recognize the incompati- bility of the judiciary dispensing parti- san patronage, such as thIs bill espe- cislly provides, and even the unusuAl power of controlling at will the entire business and proceedings of the pro- posed Probate Court. The District Court, Clerk, under the provisions of this bill, becomes eI-officio clerk of the Probate Court with 8 salary added to the one hundred dollars per month now paid in Pima County, and his fees in United States cases, and he has the pow CT to designate the person who shall be clerk of the Boari oiiSupervisors at fat salary. If this is not penetrating the digits of the dispensers of pat ronsge way down into the pock- cts of the unwilling taxpayers We would like to be RdyIsed of any other definition of the measure and it's mo- tive.
 The usefulness of the court will be destroyed, if this bill becomes a law. It gives a civil jurisdiction but little larger than that of justices of the peace, snd limits its criminal jurisdiction to 6 prse- ticsl prohibition. What the "joker" is to game of cards, this proposed new court Is to the District Court. It em- panels grand jury when ordered to do so, and the indictments are passed into the district court, unless they be for misdemeanor, and not single trIal for that offense has occupied either court for the past two years. In this sense it becomes a sort of "pusher" for the high CT court, and deprives i. of all its ed- vantsges of speedy determination of business while it increases the e1- pense.
 There are several very serious defects ID the bill. It repeRls all acts establish Ing the county courts, through which the Probate Court business came under that jurisdiction. but fails to re- enact tho old general law that stands repealed so far as Pima county is concerned. IL Is a well settled principle of law that the repeal of a repeating act does not revive the law which it repealed, and its pas sage in its present condition would bring up s question ss to whether the Probate Judge and the eI-offioio Probate Clerk could draw any salary whatever. so far as Pima county Is concerned
 We Bsk our readers Co Impartially con- slder this measure and see if they want it to become a law. Let them judge whether it is proper and safe to place such unusual power and political pat rouage as thIs bil! apparently does, into the hands of tribunal that should be absolutely free from every influence bu; inc desire to do only what Is right, To a candid and impartial observer the measure discloses several very con.pIcu- ous Africans in the woodpile.